In which there are repurposed railways
I completed 
flaneurs June challenge Lines IIa, follow that railway, in Cheltenham.
After visiting the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway, and travelling as far north as possible on the trains, I realised I could also walk south from Cheltenham Racecourse station to Cheltenham Spa mainline station along the disused trackbed, now a cycle path, that used to connect the railways before the branchline was closed. I found the remains of snail shells dumped by a serial-killing bird, probably a thrush, I saw people playing American football (or rather, to confirm the stereotype, standing around on the pitch, in the middle of a game, talking about playing American football), I saw boring graffitied tags and a few pieces of better work (that still wouldn't pass muster in most cities), I crossed bridges (original railway and new cyclepath), and had a much more pleasant walk through the town than I would on the streets full of cars.
On my way through the streets from Cheltenham Spa station to Cheltenham Racecourse, I noticed a long sturdy red brick wall with tell-tale arches, then opposite I spotted a corner house that looked as if it had previously been an old pub and when I rounded the corner (isn't that a pleasing phrase?) I found a plaque explaining that this area had been extensive wharves and offices and warehouses at the terminus of a horse-drawn freight tramroad called the Gloucester and Cheltenham Railway, which existed from 1809-1861. The next corner had another old ex-pub that had closed more recently and still had some of the external trappings of a classic boozer.
This entry was originally posted at http://spiralsheep.dreamwidth.org/539256.html and has
comments Please comment there using OpenID.
flaneurs June challenge Lines IIa, follow that railway, in Cheltenham.
After visiting the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway, and travelling as far north as possible on the trains, I realised I could also walk south from Cheltenham Racecourse station to Cheltenham Spa mainline station along the disused trackbed, now a cycle path, that used to connect the railways before the branchline was closed. I found the remains of snail shells dumped by a serial-killing bird, probably a thrush, I saw people playing American football (or rather, to confirm the stereotype, standing around on the pitch, in the middle of a game, talking about playing American football), I saw boring graffitied tags and a few pieces of better work (that still wouldn't pass muster in most cities), I crossed bridges (original railway and new cyclepath), and had a much more pleasant walk through the town than I would on the streets full of cars.
On my way through the streets from Cheltenham Spa station to Cheltenham Racecourse, I noticed a long sturdy red brick wall with tell-tale arches, then opposite I spotted a corner house that looked as if it had previously been an old pub and when I rounded the corner (isn't that a pleasing phrase?) I found a plaque explaining that this area had been extensive wharves and offices and warehouses at the terminus of a horse-drawn freight tramroad called the Gloucester and Cheltenham Railway, which existed from 1809-1861. The next corner had another old ex-pub that had closed more recently and still had some of the external trappings of a classic boozer.
This entry was originally posted at http://spiralsheep.dreamwidth.org/539256.html and has
comments Please comment there using OpenID.